


i hate it when you leave

by thestarsaretalking



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Kiss, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25785388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestarsaretalking/pseuds/thestarsaretalking
Summary: Jared was kind of attractive and Richard really admired how sweet he was. He loved the sound of Jared’s laugh and he enjoyed spending time with Jared outside of work. Plus, Richard had never met anybody who was so willing to give up everything for him and Jared was willing to leave Hooli just so he could work at Pied Piper. And, frankly, Richard wouldn’t mind holding Jared’s hand if- Wait, was he actually attracted to Jared?(or in which richard comes to the realization that he loves jared a little too late)
Relationships: Jared Dunn/Original Male Character(s), Jared Dunn/Richard Hendricks
Kudos: 19





	i hate it when you leave

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place sometime throughout season 4 ish? i'm pretty sure it’s like season 4 but just in a different font. all the seasons have kinda melded together in my mind so this fic might veer off canon a lil bit.

You know the DVD logo that bounces around on the screen of a TV and never hits the corner? That’s what Richard’s brain felt like. Richard’s brain was a TV screen and there was a thought that bounced around in his head that never hit a corner and settled. He wished that he could make the thought stop bouncing around in his head because he hated thinking about the possibility that he wasn’t a hundred percent straight. 

He had started thinking about this one day when he was working and a random thought had popped into his head: what if he had romantic feelings for Jared? Richard had glanced over at Jared, who was biting his bottom lip as he focused on the screen of his computer, and frowned, confused at the abrupt thought. 

At the time, Richard was eager to brush it off quickly, dismissing it as a random what-if question his brain made up just to throw him off track. But one night, as Richard lay awake in his bunk bed and stared at his ceiling, he started really thinking about the possibility of him having feelings for Jared.

Jared was kind of attractive and Richard really admired how sweet he was. He loved the sound of Jared’s laugh and he enjoyed spending time with Jared outside of work. Plus, Richard had never met anybody who was so willing to give up everything for him and Jared was willing to leave Hooli just so he could work at Pied Piper. And, frankly, Richard wouldn’t mind holding Jared’s hand if- Wait, was he actually attracted to Jared?

A record scratch played in Richard’s brain as realization began to dawn on him. Then, Richard did what any person trying to avoid fully arriving at a life-changing conclusion would do: he decided to stop thinking about it and put his attention on something else, specifically the offer that Monica had made during TechCrunch. 

Admittedly, Richard wasn’t romantically interested in Monica, but she was the only girl who offered to go on a date with him in the past three years. Maybe if he took her offer, he would catch feelings for her and completely forget about the possibility of him having feelings for Jared. 

The timing was perfect too because Richard had just left the old Pied Piper, which became Piper Chat, to work on his own project, building a new internet. This meant that, technically, he was no longer working with Monica and could ask her out on a date without violating any workplace policies. So, Richard picked up his phone and called Monica, forgetting that it was the middle of the night. 

Monica picked up and answered groggily, “Richard? Why are you calling me at two in the morning? Is everything okay?”  
  


“Hi, Monica. Yeah, uh, everything is okay. I just- I- do you want to go on a date with me? We’re not co-workers anymore so we can go on a date now without having to worry about… you know, all the rules and stuff,” Richard stammered, swinging his dangling legs back and forth as he sat on the edge of his bunk bed. 

“Sure, I’d be up for that but can we talk about this tomorrow morning? I need to sleep.” Monica mostly sounded annoyed that Richard was calling her at an ungodly hour but at least she had agreed so Richard considered it a victory.

“Yeah. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.” Richard hung up on the call and fell backward onto his bed. He heard the bedsprings squeak under his weight and sighed loudly as he brought his hands up to rub his face. This date would work out in Richard’s favor. It had to because Richard didn’t know what he would do if he didn’t.

~

Richard and Monica made plans to go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant in Palo Alto. When Richard walked into the restaurant, he immediately felt out of place. Everybody was wearing clothes that were probably worth enough to cover Richard’s rent for five years and the decor was too fancy for Richard’s taste. Thankfully, Richard found Monica quickly and walked over to the table without bumping into one of many vases set up throughout the restaurant. 

“Hey, you’re here. I’m surprised you didn’t come an hour late. I figured it would take you at least thirty minutes to find this place.” Monica flashed a small smile before she went back to looking over the menu. 

Richard shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he read the menu and tried to relax and enjoy the date. When he struggled to focus on reading the fancy and expensive dish names written on the menu in cursive, he glanced up from his menu to get a good look at Monica. 

Monica was wearing makeup and her hair was resting on her shoulders. She was wearing a dark blue blouse and a silver bracelet that glinted whenever she moved her hand. She looked effortlessly flawless; yet, Richard couldn’t feel attracted to her. 

Both Monica and Richard seemed to quickly realize how awkward the date was when Monica attempted to ask Richard about his new project. He proceeded to ramble on about the logistics of it and passionately explained how a decentralized internet would benefit the world. He only realized that Monica wasn’t _that_ interested in how a decentralized worked and stopped talking when the waiter brought over the food they ordered. 

Richard attempted to ease the strange vibe of the date by asking Monica questions about how working with Laurie was but he couldn’t find the motivation to pay attention to her answers. He was too busy thinking about how he should bring Jared to the restaurant because he knew Jared would be in awe at all the decorations in the restaurant. The thought of Jared gasping as he looked at the glittering chandeliers was enough to make Richard break into a grin. Monica gave him a confused look when he smiled but didn’t question it.

At the end of the date, Richard and Monica agreed to split the bill and walked out together into the chilly night. Monica tugged her jacket tighter around her body as she and Richard waited for their Ubers to arrive. When Monica spoke, her breath was visible under the glow of the street light. “Look, Richard, you’re really nice and all, but I’m not interested in dating you.”  
  


“Oh, uh, that’s okay. You don’t have to feel bad about it. I get it,” Richard crossed his arms and tried to manage a reassuring smile to show Monica that he really didn’t mind. In fact, Richard actually didn’t mind at all because the date had made him realize that he didn’t want to date Monica, even if it meant that would ensure he wasn’t interested in Jared.

Monica shook her head and tilted her head back to look up at the stars. She sighed and looked back at Richard. “It’s not because I don’t like you. I’m not into guys.” 

“Wait, so- you don’t…?” Richard frowned, slightly shocked at Monica’s statement. Monica looked blankly at Richard as if she had no clue why Richard was confused. 

“Yeah, I’m lesbian. I agreed to go on this date with you because you were the one guy I thought I had a shot at being interested in but two minutes into the date, I realized that I’m not into you romantically. I figured that if I don’t want to date you, I wouldn’t want to date any other guy because the majority of guys here in Silicon Valley are way worse than you. I guess I just realized you can’t always force things to happen.” 

While Richard was thrown off guard by the fact that Monica came out as a lesbian but the phrase “you can’t always force things to happen” really stuck with Richard. He decided to clear his throat and reply so he wouldn’t just leave Monica hanging. “Well, thank you for telling me. I’m glad you’ve got it all figured out now.”  
  


“Thanks,” Monica smiled sincerely just as her Uber pulled up to the sidewalk. She opened the car door and turned around. “And good luck with Jared.” 

“Monica, what do you mean ‘good luck with Jared’?” 

Monica lifted an eyebrow and scoffed, “It’s pretty obvious that you like him.” 

Richard’s frown deepened as he tried to connect the dots. For somebody who was considered one of the smartest people on the planet, Richard was sometimes very oblivious. “Why would you say that?” 

Shrugging casually as if she was talking about a grocery list instead of Richard’s love life, Monica listed, “You’re always looking at him when you think he’s not looking at you, you smile whenever he walks into the room, and you seem to care about him more than you care about anybody else. I was surprised you even asked me to go on this date. You should ask him out. I’m sure he’ll say yes.” 

Monica gave Richard one last apologetic smile before she got into her Uber. Monica had just laid out all the evidence that Richard refused to acknowledge and Richard felt like he had just been exposed to the entire world when in reality, Monica was the only one who seemed to know how he felt. Or maybe Monica wasn’t the only one? From Monica’s tone, Richard figured that his feelings for Jared were rather obvious and he wondered if anybody else could tell. 

Thankfully, Richard’s Uber arrived and picked him up so he didn’t have to stand in the cold and think about falling in love with Jared. Later that night, he eventually got back to thinking about Jared and continued the long internal debate he had been having with himself. 

Richard always had trouble processing and understanding his emotions so it came as no surprise that he was struggling to determine what he felt towards Jared. He tried to brush off his thoughts but his brain clung on tightly to the thought of Jared and Richard ended up having a dream about him and Jared. 

In the dream, Richard and Jared were sitting together on the hood of a car. The car was parked on the edge of a cliff and it was facing the vast ocean. It was a grey, cloudy day but the sunset was visible through the thick layers of clouds covering the sky. 

Richard leaned his head against Jared’s shoulder and Jared had one arm around Richard. Jared pressed a kiss to the top of Richard’s head and whispered, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” Richard replied easily and he smiled as he nestled closer to Jared. He felt a strange wave of calm wash over him. Being with Jared made Richard feel like the world slowed down enough for him to believe that everything would end up okay. 

After that vivid dream, Richard came to the conclusion that he did, in fact, have very strong feelings for Jared. He didn’t know what he would label himself as but he knew that he cared deeply about Jared and wanted to date him. This realization sort of freaked Richard out because he had never really fallen in love but after a few days of internal debate, Richard was able to accept this new information.

It took Richard an entire week to work up the nerve to ask Jared out. Richard rehearsed what he was going to say in front of the mirror several times. He felt silly reciting the words he planned to say to Jared while looking at himself in the mirror but he knew that it was better to be prepared than to stammer out a confession of love off the top of his head.

Finally, Richard decided to ask Jared out one evening. Dinesh and Gilfoyle went to the backyard to test out a new drone they bought, giving Richard the perfect opportunity to talk to Jared alone. Jared was making himself a sandwich in the kitchen when Richard walked up to him and cleared his throat. “Hey Jared, I have, uh, something to ask you.” 

“Richard! Perfect timing. I was just about to go talk to you. I have something very exciting to tell you.” Jared placed his sandwich on a plate so he could give his full attention to Richard. Richard’s heart fluttered a little when Jared looked Richard in the eye and he internally cursed himself for getting caught off guard. 

“Oh, really? What were- what’s the thing you want to tell me?” Richard questioned, his eyebrows knitting together as he tried to guess what Jared wanted to tell Richard. Maybe Jared got a new car? 

Jared’s smile widened and he lowered his voice as he shared, “I’ve been seeing someone and I’m going out to dinner tomorrow night with them. So I’ll be out tomorrow evening but if you need anything while I’m out, please send me a message. I’ll try to help out as soon as I can.” 

Richard blinked, taken aback at what Jared said. For a moment, Richard didn’t feel any emotion other than confusion. He thought that Jared liked him back but it seemed like Jared had found somebody else. Maybe he misread Jared’s emotions?

“Richard? What did you want to tell me?”  
  


Richard tried to shake off the uneasy feeling settling in his stomach and forced a stiff smile. “Nothing. I didn’t- I don’t need to tell you anything. I was just joking. Good luck with your date. I would love to meet her sometime.”  
  


“Him. He’s a guy,” Jared’s smile falters a little, showing that he was worried about how Richard would react to the fact that he was going out with a guy.

“Cool. Him. Yeah, I’d love to meet him sometime. Have fun. Uh, I have to… I gotta go. Bathroom,” Richard stammered and turned around, fleeing to his bedroom. 

Surprisingly, Richard’s stomach wasn’t upset the way it usually was whenever Richard put himself in high-stress situations. Still, Richard lay on his bed, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he wallowed in misery. He tortured himself by imagining Jared on the date, laughing and falling in love with somebody who wasn’t Richard. If only Richard could have found his bravery a little earlier, then maybe he would have actually had a chance. Instead, he got to think about Jared wrapping his arms around another man while he was curled up in his room alone. 

~

Ever since Jared told Richard about his date, Richard had been in an awful mood and he was fully aware of it. He was snappy and frustrated all the time and the smallest incidents caused him to lash out. Everybody in the incubator, except for Jared, who didn’t notice Richard’s change in behavior because Richard pointedly tried not to act short-tempered around Jared, avoided Richard so they wouldn’t piss him off by accident. The timing was terrible too; Richard had just gotten Gilfoyle, Jared, and Dinesh to help him out with building the decentralized internet.

One day, Richard was checking the chunk of code Dinesh had been working on and found a mistake. Normally, he would just point out the mistake and ask Dinesh to fix it, but Richard was so ticked off by Dinesh’s mistake that he launched into a full-on rant. 

“You’re not an amateur coder anymore, Dinesh. Your job is coding. You shouldn’t be making these little mistakes! God, is it that hard to understand? What part of coding don’t you get? Do you fucking need me to teach you how to code?” 

Dinesh stared at Richard with wide eyes. “Jesus, Richard. What the fuck? I made one small mistake. I won’t do it again next time.” 

“Who shoved a stick up your ass?” Gilfoyle deadpanned as he swiveled around to face Richard. His arms were crossed and he looked more exasperated than he usually looked. 

As Richard gripped the back of his chair tightly, he insisted, “Nobody. There’s no stick up my ass. I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

“You’re clearly not okay. You’ve been so pissed off these past few days and you’ve been taking your anger out on all of us. Seriously, what’s going on?” Dinesh earnestly asked, his expression morphing one of half-concern and half-irritation. 

“Nothing! Guys, I’m serious. Nothing’s wrong. Get back to work.” Richard glared at Dinesh and Gilfoyle as if that would intimidate them into working. They both didn’t budge, clearly unwilling to let it go, and Richard groaned loudly and dropped his head into his hands. 

Jared happened to walk in at the moment and when he saw Richard groaning, he asked, “Richard, is everything okay?” 

Richard’s head snapped up and he looked Jared in the eyes as he firmly stated, “Yeah. Everything’s great! I’m fine. Now, can we get back to work?” 

Richard didn’t wait for an answer before he sat down in his chair and began typing on his laptop, purposely ignoring the looks his friends were giving him. Admittedly, Richard knew he was being an asshole but he didn’t really know how else to cope with the fact that he had realized he was in love with Jared a moment too late. 

For the rest of the day, Richard blasted electronic dance music through his headphones and ignored everybody. He was still fully aware of the impression he was making on the other people in the incubator but he continued to ignore their concern. When Erlich cast him a pitying look, Richard grabbed his laptop and stalked into his room, slamming his bedroom door behind him. 

Moments later, Richard heard a delicate knock on his door and sighed as he took his headphones off. “Come in.” 

Jared opened the door and walked over to Richard with a nervous smile on his face. He sat down on the empty chair next to Richard’s chair and gently said, “Richard, I don’t know what you’re going through but I’m going to stick with you until the end. You’ll get through whatever you’re battling. I’m here to help you in any way I can, okay? ” 

“Okay. Thanks, Jared.” Richard cracks a small smile. He can’t help but feel a little better after hearing Jared’s comforting, soft voice reassure him. 

“And if it makes you feel any better, my boyfriend and I are having a party at my condo on Friday and you’re invited. I was going to tell you and the other guys at the same time but I’m telling you a little earlier.”

“Oh, um, thanks. Yeah, I’ll be there. Thanks for inviting me.” Richard manages to force a smile that he hopes looks sincere and Jared believes it. Jared pats Richard on the shoulder before he stands up and leaves. 

Richard knew that Jared hoped that telling him about the party would make him feel better, but it only made him feel worse. The thought of seeing Jared and his boyfriend together made Richard feel queasy and he put his headphones back on and tried to drown out his thoughts with loud music to make it easier for himself to be convinced that everything was okay.

~

Richard felt out of place at the party. Everybody else at the party seemed delighted to talk about the stock market and the economy while Richard simply wished that he was at home alone. He hated going to parties but Jared seemed really enthusiastic about the party and when Jared was excited about something, Richard couldn’t find a way to say no to him. 

Dinesh and Gilfoyle were invited as well but they were too busy arguing in the corner of the living room about something stupid, which was basically their version of flirting. Richard would usually stick close to them because they were the only people he knew at the party, but he didn’t like seeing Jared and his boyfriend talking to guests together, arms around each other’s waists, in the living room so he decided to take a look around Jared’s condo.

Jared’s condo was as orderly as Richard imagined it to be. As Richard walked down a hallway, he looked at the photos hung on the walls. There were some photos of Jared during his time at Vassar and when Richard saw a photo of Jared in his graduation cap and gown, he paused and smiled. Young Jared looked like he was bursting with hope and waiting for an opportunity to prove his worth to the world. 

“Are you Richard Hendricks?” 

Richard turned around to see who was talking to him and frowned when he saw that a man with short brown hair and a wine glass in one hand had spoken. “Um, yeah. I’m Richard. And you are…?” 

“Owen, Jared’s boyfriend,” Owen stuck out his free hand and Richard shook it carefully. “So, you’re the famous Richard Hendricks. It’s nice to finally meet you,” 

“Famous? I’m not- I’m not really famous. But, um, thanks.” Richard shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and tried to keep avoiding eye contact, even if he didn’t want to look at Owen’s face. He didn’t really know what Jared saw in Owen.

Owen was an average-looking man, and Richard was pretty sure that Owen had never owned a company that was millions of dollars. Actually, considering that Owen also lived in Silicon Valley, maybe he did. 

Still, Owen didn’t seem too special but maybe that’s why Jared was interested in him. Maybe Jared was tired of Richard’s explosive behavior and strange habits and wanted to have some sort of normalcy in his life. Richard blinked and dragged himself out of his thoughts as Owen delightedly informed, “Jared talks about you all the time so you’re famous in my book.”

“Oh, really? What, uh, what does he talk about?” 

“He talks about your leadership and accomplishments and all that fun stuff. He talks about you like you’re more important than Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates combined!” Owen grinned at Richard. He smiled back as he imagined Jared animatedly talking about him to Owen. Owen patted Richard on the side of his arm and said, “Well, it was nice talking to you but I have other people to talk to. I look forward to talking to you again soon!” 

With that, Owen left Richard to his own devices. Richard wandered out onto the patio of the condo to get some fresh air and he leaned against the railing as he looked out at the glowing lights of the city in the distance. He was all alone but he didn’t mind. The sounds of people mingling at the party were distant and it was nice to get away from all the noise and orderly chaos. 

A chilly breeze blew past Richard and he shivered a little, growing acutely aware of how much colder it was outside. He folded his hands underneath his arms and exhaled. Richard had spent so much time alone that when he had the chance to spend time with people, he chose to spend it by himself. But to be fair, Richard could barely form a coherent thought when he was surrounded by dozens of people. He preferred being alone because at least he could dwell in his thoughts without the drone of obnoxious voices. 

When Richard heard smooth footsteps behind him, he mentally prepared himself to face whoever was approaching him. 

“Richard, how have you been enjoying the party?” 

Richard let out a huge sigh of relief when he recognized Jared’s voice and turned to look at his friend who had walked up to stand next to him. Jared leaned his elbows on the railing as his stunning blue eyes scanned Richard’s face, presumably searching for any sign of displeasure.

“It’s really nice. I’m just about to leave but, uh, it’s been fun. And your boyf- Owen is really nice. I’m glad you have him in your life because you deserve somebody who really loves you.” Richard didn’t expect to get emotional but he started tearing up when he started talking about Owen. 

As envious as he was of Jared’s boyfriend, Richard had to admit that Owen seemed unafraid to be open and affectionate. If Richard dated Jared, he would constantly be afraid of what people would think of him and Jared didn’t deserve to be burdened with Richard’s insecurities.

“Richard? Are you okay?” Jared asked. For some reason, Jared’s caring tone that usually made Richard feel comforted made him feel worse. It magnified Richard’s emotions and they started to pour out of him. 

“Jared, I know you love Owen and I know Owen loves you a lot but I need to tell you something. I… I love you. And it’s too late for me to say this but I just want you to know that I care about you a lot and I want you to be happy. I just want to know how much you mean to me,” Richard confessed, staring down at his hands. He didn’t want to look at Jared because he knew that looking at him would make him break down completely. 

Richard didn’t need to see Jared’s face to know that Jared was shocked by Richard’s words. They both stood in uncomfortable silence for a beat, listening to the muffled sounds of the party and the chirping of crickets in the dark of the night. If Richard listened closely enough, he would have heard the residue of his words that still seemed to hang in the air. 

Taking a deep breath, Richard turned and walked away before Jared could reply. Through teary eyes, he sent Dinesh and Gilfoyle a message that informed them that Richard would be taking an Uber home early while he squeezed his way past people in the condo and made his way to the door. Thankfully, Richard’s Uber arrived quickly and Richard left the party before he could make a bigger fool of himself. 

As Richard took the Uber back to his place, he silently berated himself for impulsively telling Jared that he was in love with him. He wished that he could take back his words because, in the moment, a confession seemed appropriate but looking back, Richard should’ve kept his mouth shut. What did he expect was going to happen? That Jared would have suddenly dropped to his knees and proposed to Richard? Richard was a fool for getting his hopes too high. As a result, he had to deal with the consequences of his actions. 

During the days following the party, Richard ignored Jared. He went out of his way to avoid seeing Jared by working in his room and only walking into the Hacker Hostel to talk with Dinesh and Gilfoyle when he knew Jared had left. He constantly had his headphones on and worked nonstop as a way to ward Jared away. 

Dinesh and Gilfoyle noticed the decreased frequency of Richard and Jared’s interactions but they didn’t make any remarks until one day when Richard walked out of his room during the day and saw that Jared wasn’t in the Hacker Hostel. “Guys, where’s Jared?”  
  


“Oh, so now you want to know where Jared is. You two have been avoiding each other,” Dinesh commented, raising his eyebrows. He kept his eyes on his screen to express his disinterest in Richard’s inquiry.

Gilfoyle nodded in agreement and pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose as he sighed, “You two need to kiss and make up. Jared has been really mopey lately, which means he’s been a real pain in the ass.” 

“We don’t need to ‘kiss and makeup’,” Richard retorted, making air quotes while he repeated the phrase Gilfoyle said. “Everything is fine. What happened to Jared?”  
  


Dinesh glanced up from his screen. “Jared just broke up with his boyfriend and decided to quit. His resignation letter is on that keyboard. Whatever happened between you must’ve been really serious.” 

Richard froze as he processed the first part of Dinesh’s statement. Jared had broken up with Owen? Could it have been a result of Richard’s confession? If it was, then maybe Jared did love him back. The possibility made Richard feel giddy and he was suddenly filled with hope that fizzled out when the second part of what Dinesh said sank in. 

“Wait, Jared quit?” Richard looked over at the keyboard Jared usually used and saw that there was a letter placed on it.  
  


“Yeah, he just left. He’s outside,” Gilfoyle answered as he glanced out the window. “Yep, he’s getting in his car.”

In a hurry, Richard put his laptop down on the nearest desk he could find and ran out to the driveway. He spotted Jared, who had just started his car, and jogged over to knock on the window of Jared’s car. 

Somehow, Richard was winded from running from the Hacker Hostel to the driveway so he was trying to catch his breath as Jared slowly rolled the window of his car down. Jared’s lips were pressed into a thin line, trying to hide his emotions.

Richard huffed out his words between breaths, “Hey, uh, Jared. Could you, um, get out of the car? I just need to talk to you.” 

The low rumbling of the car cut off and Richard stepped away from the car. The car door swung open and Jared stepped out, his expression still neutral. 

“Jared, what are you doing?”

Jared took a shaky breath and explained, “Richard, I’m quitting. I’m going to find another company to do business development for.”

Richard had so many questions he wanted to ask. Why was Jared so willing to leave Pied Piper? Was it not good enough for him? Was he leaving because of Richard? How could he abandon Pied Piper when it needed him the most? All these questions popped up in Richard’s head but he was only able to blurt out one word. “Why?” 

“Richard, you have to understand that I love Pied Piper. I’ve been so lucky to watch this company grow but I’ve gotten too close to the cause. My feelings are getting in the way of what’s good for this company,” Jared insisted and his blue eyes reflected the pain he was feeling.

“Please stay. You’ve been such a big help and we need you. We’re so close to pulling this off. This company needs you,” Richard begged. He paused before he admitted. “I need you.” 

“But, Richard, I-“ Jared never finished what he was going to say because Richard cut him off by kissing him. At first, Richard was worried that Jared didn’t want the kiss but after a moment, Jared wrapped an arm around Richard’s waist and deepened the kiss. 

The kiss set off a million tiny fireworks in Richard’s brain but at the same time, it was as delicate as a leaf drifting along the surface of a serene lake. It was everything Richard could ever want and it was the final nail in the coffin that made him realize just how in love with Jared he was.

When they broke off the kiss, Richard pleaded, “We can make this work. We can be together and have the company run smoothly. We can have both. I’ve finally stopped running away and you shouldn’t have to run from this.” 

Jared smiled genuinely for the first time in days and softly replied, “Okay.” 

He took Richard’s hand in his and they walked back to the house, prepared to face whatever the future held together.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first jarrich fic so leave a comment and a kudo! if you wanna chat with me about jarrich, hop on over to my [twitter](https://twitter.com/gaIaxygays)!


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